Writer was off base in criticisms of Cuomo
Editor:
A letter writer to the Orleans Hub spewed misinformation. This writer tells us that Andrew Cuomo, who left HUD in 2001 was responsible for the 2008 financial crisis.
The letter writer does not tell us what “social justice policy was a big part led to the meltdown of 2008.” He gives no specifics, and no example of what he means, he just spews invectives.
Furthermore, the writer says Mr. Cuomo could have bought ventilators in 2015 for the 2020 crisis. I wonder, if the Governor knew five years ago we were going to have a pandemic, why didn’t President Trump know two months ago. More to the point, what the writer stated does not match the facts. Chris Churchill of the Albany Times Union wrote on 3/31/20: “As I’ll discuss in minute, the claims, (that Governor Cuomo could buy ventilators in 2015), about the report were terribly misleading, at best. I’d say they were blatantly dishonest.” PolitiFact wrote “Trump’s statement is inaccurate. We rate it False.” Saying that Mr. Cuomo could have bought ventilators five years before a crisis arrives is disingenuous.
The writer also criticizes the Governor for the STAMP project in Alabama N.Y. Let’s state the facts: the company, 1366 Technologies, withdrew from the project because it could not get proper Federal Financing according to the company spokesperson. Danny Spewak from WGRZ reported on 3/5/18 that “1366 Technologies CEO Frank Van Mierlo said in a statement that withdrawing from the federal loan guarantee agreement was “difficult.”
Mr. Spewak goes on to report that: “At the time, the state offered $56.3 million in economic incentives— but only if 1366 Technologies created at least 600 jobs. That clearly did not happen, so the state will no longer be on the hook for those incentives. No state or local taxpayer dollars have been paid out yet.”
The failure of STAMP project was not Mr. Cuomo’s but that of Mr. Trump’s federal government. I get it, you don’t like Governor Cuomo and you love Dear Leader Trump but please stick to facts, stop making things up and give specifics to support your position.
William Fine
Brockport
